Gordon G. Chang, DCNF
“The destruction of items through direct-ascent ASAT missile tests is reckless and irresponsible,” said Vice President Kamala Harris, speaking at Vandenberg Space Force Base on April 18, when she announced a unilateral U. S. ban on the U. S. U. S. anti-satellite testing.
“The long-lived debris created through those tests now threatens satellites and other elements of the area that are important to the security, economic and clinical interests of all nations, and increases the dangers to astronauts in the area,” said Harris, who chairs National Space. Council. .
Many applauded the vice president’s announcement, a nation’s first commitment to such testing. on the SpaceNews website.
There is no doubt that ASAT verification puts the area’s assets at risk. On November 15, Russia introduced a direct ascent weapon, hit one of its satellites 480 kilometers into the area and created 1,500 pieces of space junk. Gen. James Dickinson, head of U. S. Space Command. The U. S. Department of Homeland Security said the verification “will likely generate loads of thousands of smaller pieces of orbital debris. “Harris said there were still 2,800 pieces of floating debris left from Chinese control in 2007.
The United States, the world’s first nation, would have much to lose from the cascading destruction of satellites and other objects in orbit, known as Kessler syndrome. The syndrome occurs when debris hits such objects, creating debris faster than gravity can remove.
Even tiny debris can cause great damage in low-Earth orbit. Residents of the International Space Station, for example, had to take refuge after the Russian in November.
The United States has already shown that it can destroy elements with direct escalation weapons. In 2008, Operation Burnt Frost, the United States hit a satellite that was falling to Earth. More U. S. tests would be desirable, but not necessarily necessary.
So what doesn’t please Vice President Harris’ announcement?
A lot, unfortunately.
Many hope harris’ promise will be incorporated into a comprehensive treaty and that the Biden administration will lend its support. “We have to write down the new road regulations,” Harris told Vandenberg. “And we will lead by example. “
Don’t worry that America’s foreign partners need to expand the standards. It is vital that China or Russia need it and, if they do, that they meet their obligations. So far, Washington has a history of one hundred percent failures relative to Beijing and Moscow. in this regard.
“Biden recognizes the risk of waste in orbit, but assumes that if he unilaterally disarms in the area, he will motivate America’s enemies to behave similarly,” Brandon Weichert, writer of “Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower. “In fact, being the complete liars they are, the regimes in China and Russia will most likely pretend to stick to U. S. leadership, wait for the U. S. to disarm, and then hit Americans in the area when they least expect it. Mitigation of waste from the area is important, but not at the expense of abandoning heights.
The United States was even more dominant in space, and American political leaders made the decision to slow the advance of anti-satellite weapons for fear of generating competition. the most you can lose in a race. This view, however, was the product of a basic false impression of Chinese and Russian attitudes and led the United States directly to defeat China in anti-satellite weaponry.
“Expect China and Russia to react with contempt to Biden’s unilateral arms ban,” Richard Fisher of the International Center for Evaluation and Strategy told me.
Just at the right time, China’s Foreign Ministry, a day after Harris’ statement, mocked the vice president and asked her to make even more unilateral promises about the area. “Why announce that you will use such weapons?” asked spokesman Wang Wenbin. Why devote yourself to prohibiting the use of force in front of objects in the area?”
“It is,” says Weichert, “the height of utopian naivety that unilateral disarmament leads to anything other than its overall defeat. “
Gordon G. Chang is the protagonist of The Coming Collapse of China. Follow him on Twitter @GordonGChang.
The views and reviews expressed in this observation are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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